Category Archives: Education

Sokal Redux?

Posted on May 30, 2017 by

Fenster writes: When making sense no longer makes sense it is very tempting to stop making sense, this urge itself a form of sense-making.  In 1984 the interrogator tells Winston Smith that two and two can equal five if the … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 3 Comments

What is the “Right” Take on Higher Education?

Posted on May 1, 2017 by

Fenster writes: My wife makes fun of me because when I give directions I tend to mix up left and right.  I don’t know why I do this.  I am a fairly hard “P” (perceiver) in Meyers-Briggs terms so it … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics and Economics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Conrad Black, William Deresiewicz, and David Goodhart. What Manner of Coming Conflict?

Posted on April 4, 2017 by

Fenster writes: Three authors have proposed a way to think about current and coming conflicts.  Conrad Black sees the conflict as between the religious instincts of the people and the secular worldview of the elite.  William Deresiewicz thinks that lurking … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Philosophy and Religion, Politics and Economics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

What the President of Middlebury Did Not Say

Posted on March 13, 2017 by

Fenster writes: Charles Murray was properly incensed over the egregious actions of those protesting his recent appearance at Middlebury College.  At the same time he was gracious and generous as regards the way the Administration handled the event. In truth … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics and Economics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Squirrel!

Posted on October 12, 2016 by

Fenster writes: As Kant wrote, out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made. [Of course, come the Singularity won’t be no need to worry about pesky things like humanity’s irascible and unpredictable nature.  All will … Continue reading →

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A Third Way for Campus Speech?

Posted on September 11, 2016 by

Fenster writes: Shulamit Reinharz, the director of an academic center at Brandeis, has an op-ed in the Boston Globe calling for a third way on campus speech.  Alluding to the tension currently present between free speech and those who would … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

“Barbarian Empires of the Steppes”

Posted on August 10, 2016 by

Paleo Retiree writes: Along with Blowhard, Esq. and Fabrizio del Wrongo, I’m a big fan of Kenneth Harl, a Tulane professor who has done numerous lecture series about early and medieval history for The Great Courses. He’s smart, he’s fast, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments